The present invention relates to the new and distinct butterfly bush plant, Buddleia ‘Blue Knight’ hybridized by Hans A. Hansen in the summer of 2010 at a wholesale perennial nursery in Zeeland, Mich., USA. ‘Blue Knight’ is the result of an ongoing breeding program conducted by the inventor. The goals for this program have been to produce improved, garden-worthy plants for the ornamental plant market. Seeds of the cross between Buddleia ‘Podaras #8’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 22,069 as the female or seed patent and the male or pollen parent was presumably from Buddleia ‘Blue Chip’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 19,991 and were harvested on Jun. 21, 2010. The new plant was selected as a single seedling and originally assigned breeder code H10-22-01.
No plants of Buddleia ‘Blue Knight’ have been sold, in this country or anywhere in the world, prior to the filing of this application, nor has any disclosure of the new plant been made prior to the filing of this application with the exception of that which may have been disclosed within one year of the filing of this application and was either derived directly or indirectly from the inventor.
Buddleia ‘Blue Knight’ was first asexually propagated from a single select plant in 2012 by stem cuttings at the same nursery in Zeeland, Mich. The resultant asexually propagated plants have been found to be stable and true to type in successive generations of asexual reproduction.